Lagos Water Corporation formerly Federal Water Supply is the principal supplier of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

throughout

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

. It is owned by the

Lagos State Government Lagos State Government is the government of Lagos State, concerned with the administration of the state ministries. The government consists of the executive, legislative and Judiciary. The government is headed by the Governor who is the policy-maker ...

. The Waterworks was commissioned by Mr. Frederick Lugard, the then Governor General of Nigeria, in 1915 at Obun Eko Area of Lagos. The Lagos

Water Corporation Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater and drainage services throughout the state of Western Australia. It is the seventh successive agency to deal with the services in Perth, Western Australia. With offices in Perth ...

then under the federal government was established with the construction of Iju Water Works. The Iju treatment plant had an initial design capacity of 2.45 million gallon per day (MGD) and was constructed primarily to supply Water to the Colonial residents of Ikoyi in those days. The Lagos Water Corporation has developed a Lagos Water Supply Master Plan as a "Road Map" to take the State's water production capacity to 745 million gallons per day by 2020 in a renewed effort to solve the problem of

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where ...

and ensure steady supply for the growing population of Lagos. The entire installed water production capacity is currently 210 million gallons per day (MGD), which is insufficient to meet current demand.

Iju Waterworks

Iju Waterworks is a facility in Ifako-Ijaiye, LGA, Lagos Mainland that is designed to provide drinkable water to Lagos State residents.Olukoju, Ayodeji. Chapter three. Water supply in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries In: Infrastructure Development and Urban Facilities in Lagos, 1861-2000 nline Ibadan: Institut français de recherche en Afrique, 2003 (generated 25 December 2016). Available on the Internet: via OpenEdition.org. . The idea of piped water for colonial and Lagos residents emerged from medical advice noting the poor quality of water sourced from water-bodies adjoining colonial Lagos and wells used by residents. Experimental wells dug in Lagos Mainland had proved to be of higher quality that those in the Island. The Iju scheme was conceived to supply better quality water to old Lagos which at the time primarily meant

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a pop ...

, Ikoyi and its immediate environs such as Iddo, Apapa, and

Ebute Metta Ebute Metta is a neighbourhood of Lagos Mainland, Lagos, in Lagos State, Nigeria. History Ebute Metta is known for the production and sale of local food and cloths. It is a very old part of Lagos State, many of its houses were built during the ...

. To commence the scheme colonial authorities acquired 151 acres of land at Iju on Aworiland from the Egba United Government on a lease for 999 years. The site was situated at the confluence of the Iju and Adiyan rivers. Construction started in 1910, commissioning occurred on July 1, 1915, and supply of water began in August 1915. The total cost of Iju Waterworks was estimated at just over £300,000. The initial capacity of the waterworks was close to 2.5 million gallons per day. It had three engines pumping 5,000 gallons of water per minute. After completion about 200 water fountains and 250 water hydrants were established all over Lagos. Water was distributed to colonial Lagos through a cast iron trunks mains pipeline with a 28-inch diameter. The initial beneficiaries were European residents of Ikoyi and then Lagos Island but gradually pipe water reached others areas including Ijora, Apapa, Iddo, and Ebute Metta. The distribution capacity was increased in 1943 with the addition of a second pipeline. Prior to 1954, the source of water for the scheme was from the Iju and Adiyan streams. Further increase in capacity occurred in 1954 to serve Ikorodu rd, Ikeja and Eastern Lagos and abstraction of water was extended to the Ogun River. In the years 1962, 1965, 1973 and 1985 capacity was further increased. In 1985, capacity had reached 45 million gallons per day. After the creation of Lagos State in 1967, the responsibility of Iju Waterworks was transferred to the state. Water supply from Iju is dependent on power supply and incessant power outages affects the productivity of the plant. In 2010, the state government commissioned an independent power plant to supply electricity to the facility.

References

{{Reflist Water supply and sanitation in Lagos History of Lagos Colonial Nigeria 1986 establishments in Nigeria Government agencies established in 1986